Murder in January

P: DEATH STOPS THE FROLIC--George Bellairs--Macmillan ($2). As exuberant Alderman Harbuttle led a gay crocodile of English "follow-my-leader" through the aisles of a dusky church, he was suddenly and expertly sliced with an ordinary bread knife. Subsequent events and beautiful sleuthing put the story at the top of any list.

P: SAILOR, TAKE WARNING--Kelley Roos --Dodd, Mead & Co. ($2). The middle-aged yacht enthusiast was stabbed in broad daylight on a knoll overlooking a Central Park lake, in full view of Jeff Troy and his wife, who trail an exceptionally well-concealed killer through exciting, amusing situations. Good detecting, pleasant people and good fun.

P: MURDER SOLVES A PROBLEM--Marion Bramhall--Crime Club ($2). The murders of an unhappily mated pair in a New England college town are solved by a young professor and his fiancee, both suspected by the police. A lively affair with ample emotional punch.

P: MR. BOWLING BUYS A NEWSPAPER--Donald Henderson--Random House ($2). Mr. William Bowling is a slightly down-at-heel English "gentleman" who kills and kills and kills and never quite gets caught. Vivid, bizarre, well written and, except for a final sop to the angels, an engrossing exercise in amorality.

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